Lone Star Book Blog Tour: The Uvalde Raider by Ben H. English (Review)

The time is the eve of the First Gulf War. The place an abandoned World War II emergency landing strip for heavy bombers, nestled amid the near countless miles upon miles of wide openness in West Texas.

Here a climactic battle will be fought, while the rest of the world focuses on what would become known as Operation Desert Storm.

But in some ways, the stakes here are even higher as men from other places and past conflicts gamble all that they are, and all they ever were, to prevent a catastrophic terrorist attack unthinkable before on an American city.

One group seeks wholesale slaughter, the murder of helpless civilians on a massive scale. The other strives to stop this evil in any way possible, and by whatever means necessary.

The key to either side’s success or failure?

One old Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, an enduring symbol from another war and ensuing catastrophe of a different era. This relic of a not so distant past is named ‘The Uvalde Raider,’ and this is its story…

“Over the next hour, the most sinister plan ever devised by any principal of modern terrorism would reach full engagement, and what occurred then would be completely irreversible.”

The Uvalde Raider by Ben H. English is a fantastic combination of a slow build up to get acquainted with the characters and an action-packed thrill ride. Texas state trooper and ex-Marine and Vietnam vet Micah Templar is meeting his uncle, ex-military pilot Zeke Templar, and his uncle’s German friend, Max Grephardt, at a private West Texas hangar. Unfortunately for the three men, their lives are about to switch gears, thrusting them right into the hands of Yahla al-Qassam, a terrorist with the plan to use a deadly nerve agent to fulfill a perceived prophecy in the name of Allah. The target is San Antonio, Texas, a military city with a large population. Caught off guard, the three men are now hostages, tied up and at the mercy of a madman and his band of evil followers. Stopping the dastardly scheme will take courage and all the combat training the three men acquired during their past tours of military warfare. The big question is will they be able to stop these terrorists in time, before they can use Zeke’s beloved Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the Uvalde Raider, to unleash barrels of a nerve agent onto an unsuspecting major city and beyond? Failure for Micah and the other two men is simply not an option.

Ben H. English delivers a realistic tale of unimaginable horror and does an outstanding job of balancing such evil with an abundance of altruistic bravery. The Uvalde Raider encompasses the popular plot of good versus evil, with layers of superior literary characterization, Christian beliefs in the midst of trials and chaos, and historical journeys into global wars and conflicts. The Uvalde Raider has it all and then some. Romance, however, is not a theme here, unless you count love of country, family, and friends. What you will find is a gripping story that will make you ponder the plausibility of such a full-scale, terrorist massacre on US soil and wonder if it really is a matter of when and not if.

The overall pace starts off quick and engaging and then slows down quite a bit when the story swings backward as Max reflects on his life as a German pilot during WWII and how he met his lifelong friend, Zeke Templar, during that same war. At the half-way mark, the story returns to the present predicament for the three men and rockets forward faster than a B-17 bomber. Hang on tight because the action in The Uvalde Raider is laden with brazen grit and raw adrenaline!

The Uvalde Raider is a great fit for readers who love historical fiction with plenty of heart-pounding action and a plot that is a little too believable, ghastly, and spine chilling. This story, however, shows that heroes are out there and ready and willing step in and do all they can to serve, protect, and sacrifice, both on the ground and in the air.

But there is more here than meets the eye, and as the first in this Templar Family series, The Uvalde Raider ends on a note of expectation and a promise of more excitement to come.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.

Ben H. English is an eighth-generation Texan who grew up in the Big Bend. At seventeen he joined the Marines, ultimately becoming a chief scout-sniper as well as an infantry platoon sergeant. Later he worked counterintelligence and traveled to over thirty countries on four continents.

 

At Angelo State University he graduated Magna Cum Laude along with other honors. Afterwards Ben had a career in the Texas Highway Patrol, holding several instructor billets involving firearms, driving, patrol procedures and defensive tactics.

 

After retirement he decided to try his hand at writing. His first effort, Yonderings, was accepted by a university press and garnered some awards. His second, Destiny’s Way, led to a long term, multi-book contract.  This was followed by Out There: Essays on the Lower Big Bend and now his second fictional work, The Uvalde Raider.

 

His intimate knowledge of what he writes about lends credence and authenticity to his work. Ben knows how it feels to get hit and hit back, or being thirsty, cold, wet, hungry, alone or exhausted beyond imagination. Finally, he knows of not only being the hunter, but also the hunted.

 

Ben and his wife have two sons who both graduated from Annapolis. He still likes nothing better than grabbing a pack and some canteens and heading out to where few others venture.

 

Just as he has done throughout most of his life…

 

Find out more about Ben English’s Adventures on Facebook, Amazon Author Page, or visit Ben on his Website

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